Trinidad refinery to close report indicates

Trinidad and Tobago’s State oil company Petrotrin’s Pointe-a-Pierre refinery is said to be on the verge of shutting down operations.

The Trinidad Express reported on Monday night that the twin-island republic’s government has decided to shut down the refinery due to mounting losses.

The Express said a source indicated that Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) President General Ancel Roget was told: “in no uncertain terms that the major restructuring at Petrotrin will be that Trinidad and Tobago would be moving out of the refinery business because it does not have oil to refine.”

Petrotrin has been lobbying in recent months to refine Guyana’s oil which is set to begin flowing in less than two years.

The company has been plagued with a number of issues over the years ranging from oil spills at the refinery to massive financial losses, said to be in the billions. Trinidad and Tobago’s Energy Minister Franklin Khan warned on Sunday that Petrotrin’s current financial state of affairs could bankrupt the Caribbean nation.